Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I like that it consistently happens on a Thursday which gives me a nice 4 day holiday. It is a time when I get together with my brother and sisters and we are not as rushed as Christmas and birthdays. Of course the turkey and dressing is a big draw.

I like Thanksgiving also because it is the beginning of the holiday season at least in my book. I remember when growing up no one would ever put up any Christmas lights until after Thanksgiving. It was a big deal in my family to finish Thanksgiving dinner then load up in the car and go downtown to see the first lighting of simple but colorful lights strung across Congress avenue.

Sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas we would go and buy a real Christmas tree and decorating it would be a family event complete with popcorn for stringing and eating, hot chocolate and cookies. Our tree ornaments were passed down from many generations and they were very delicate. The final touches were done with icicles carefully separated out and placed one at a time. No throwing of clumped icicles was allowed.

In my family, Thanksgiving and Christmas were both about seeing relatives and gratitude for all our blessings. We would go over to my grandparents and see all the cousins and aunts and uncles on my father’s side of the family. My mother’s family lived out of town so visits were not as frequent but her parents would sometimes come in for Christmas.

This Thanksgiving holiday my sister, Lisa, and I left Friday afternoon on a trip to Marshall to see our aunts, uncles and cousins in Marshall, TX. It was a fantastic trip. I actually got to work on an old horse that belonged to a friend of my cousin. This horse had an old injury to his ankle and it was not something I could fix but I was able to do some body work to give him some comfort.

We visited with my uncle, who is currently in a nursing home for some memory loss and then Saturday night a bunch of us went to out to eat catfish. This was the most delicious meal I have had in a long time and we had a great time together. I had traded one of my clients for a used GPS unit and it turned out to be for marine use. My cousins Jody and Linda do lots of fishing so they were absolutely thrilled when I gave it to them.

My brother, Morry, called just as we were getting back from dinner and reported that all the animals were behaving. He hesitated slightly when I asked about Owl and then said that he was being good, for him. I returned home to feathers all over the house so I guess Owl missed his raw, wild Kitty food after all.

The rain held off until Lisa and I returned home and I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family and so many things to be grateful for. Madalyn

The Marshall crew and my sister, Lisa, with the camera